Nexus 7's Chances for Tablet Dominance: 10 Reasons Why They Are Slim

NEWS ANALYSIS: Google's Nexus 7 tablet is selling well, but it remains to be seen whether it can vault to the head of the tablet market, even the non-Apple iPad market. It fact, it looks like its chances of becoming a dominant product by any measure look awfully slim.

Google's Nexus 7 is selling extremely well. According to the company's Google Play online store, the 16GB, $249 Nexus 7 is currently sold out. The cheaper $199 version is still on sale, but local retailers are saying that supply is not currently matching demand. It's a major issue. And it underscores the popularity of Google's tablet and resurgent growth of the 7-inch slate market in general.
Should Apple be concerned?

Despite the Nexus 7's success, the chances of it becoming dominant in the tablet market are slim. The device is certainly nice and consumers are obviously excited by it, but it has a number of shortcomings that can't be solved so soon. What's worse, there's a chance that Google might not even want to solve those problems. The company is simply too focused on advertising and Android to truly care about a single device's success.

Read on to find out why Google'sNexus 7 is unlikely to becomedominantinthetabletmarket, and why over time, there's a good chance Google won't ever lead the tablet market.
1. The 7-inch display
The 7-inch display is obviously popular, given the Nexus 7's sales. However, no 7-inch tablet has come even close to matching Apple's iPad in terms of overall sales. The issue is that the display is too small for enterprise users and since it typically comes with less-powerful components, it doesn't appeal to many consumers.2. Long-term hype TheNexus 7 hasallthehypeitcanhopeforatthispoint. But over time, the chances of it maintaining market momentum seem to be very low. Since it is competing in a market niche that appeals to only a subset of buyers, its growth potential is limited from the start.
3. The new iPad
If the iPad didn't exist, there would be a good chance of that Nexus 7 could build up a significant market. But, unfortunately, for Google, the iPad poses an insurmountable barrier to that goal. Even a popular Nexus 7 isn't enough to hurt Apple's tablet sales.4. The iPad Mini, too
According to several reports, AppleplanstolaunchanewiPadlaterthisyear, called the iPad Mini. The device would come in at a much lower price than the current slate and deliver a 7.85-inch screen. In other words, it'll be a direct competitor to the Nexus 7. And that's bad news for Google.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.